Mall spreads holiday cheer to deaf students with a signing Santa

A regional shopping mall went the extra mile in spreading holiday cheer to local deaf and hard-of-hearing children by.

Students from Cross Bayou Elementary and Blossom Montessori School For The Deaf were invited to be the first to view a picture-in-picture movie release Thursday as well as walk through the multi-sensory Ice Palace at Grand Court at International Plaza.

But the real treat was the signing Santa.

In addition to the signing Santa, the students were entertained by performers and were treated to a sneak peek at Ice Age: Continental Drift, which debuts Dec. 11.

"If they go to a regular mall and if there's not a signing Santa they really can't express what they want for Christmas," said Noel Cherasaro, a teacher at Cross Bayou in Pinellas Park. "It's kind of about the students, the language and the communication."

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